Tag: Creatures Among Us
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Lizard Watching: the Texas Spotted Whiptail
The long-tailed, striped lizard, its limbs splayed out like a gecko’s, suddenly materialized on the porch as I swiveled back from watering the birds.
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The Brahminy Blind Snake
We lifted a small log, one with critter-enticing voids and cracks, exposing an expected assortment of busy creatures—beetles, ants, silverfish and roly-poly’s. But, amid them, to my surprise, squirmed a dark, glossy worm. What is an earthworm doing in a Harlingen yard in this arid climate? I thought. I rarely see worms here.
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Northern Mockingbird, Champion Singer
“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word! Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird!” begins a cherished lullaby. Yet, one wonders: why would anyone buy a mockingbird when its melodies tumble from treetops for all to enjoy? And the folk song apparently originated in the South, the mockingbird’s original realm.
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The Spinybacked Orbweaver — a Backyard Jewel
A spiky, ornate gem sat amid an expansive web projecting from the fence, arresting me in my tracks. I feel privileged whenever this decorative creature, the spinybacked orbweaver, sets up camp to ensnare tiny insects in my backyard.
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A Striking Red Bird—the Summer Tanager
During April, the peak of spring migration in South Texas, one often spots a summer, scarlet, or, occasionally, a western tanager resting on one of our low branches—to the delight of photographers unable to convince fluttery warblers to strike a pose. We are indeed fortunate hosts. In much of their nesting and wintering grounds, tanagers…
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Black-necked Stilts
A cartoon animal springs to mind when I watch this round-headed, needle-billed, tuxedoed bird that, walking on pink stilts, rises above its fellow shorebirds probing the mud for edible treats.